Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Some of the items I use to
decorate my home for fall are fabric table runners, a few are just simple
fabric runners while others are pieced quilt style fabric table runners. They
do not always end up on the table, some are placed on the entry hall table,
shelves and on top of the granite island; I switch them up several times each
season.They add lots of color and set
the tone for the color pallet and decorations in that room.In order to get the look I wanted I had to
make my own table runners since the stores just do not carry what I like.The featured table runner for today is my own
design titled; Fall Windowpane.

This pretty little quilt was
made up of leftover fall fabrics from two very large Thanksgiving table
runners.I ended up with a bunch of
large triangles I had no idea what to do with; I was going to make pot holders
for my kitchen.I sewed two triangles
long flat sides together to create a square, once they were sewn together and
laid out on my cutting table I saw a table runner.All I needed was something to create the
windowpane effect with; there was nothing in my stash large enough or in the
right colors so off to the fabric store I went. I ended up with a completely
different fabric then I originally went in for, a green with gold highlights to
pull out the green in the leaves, kind of hard to see in the photos but it is
there.I was very pleased with how the
table runner came out, this year it sits on the entry hall table, very pretty
to look at when you come in the front door.

Thanks for letting me share
my Fall Windowpane table runner with you.I still have more fun fall projects to share as I finish them, in the
meantime I will be showing more of those quick and easy projects.

Side Note: It is the 1 Year Anniversary of the Buttons, Bows & Bling Blog. WOOHOO!!!!!! It has been a year of total learning and great fun, I have really enjoyed sharing all my creative ventures from my studio with each and everyone of you. Thank you so much for sticking it out with me, I am grateful for each and everyone of my faithful readers. I am not sure where my blog will go from here or what I will be sharing but I truly hope you will keep reading to see what I am up to next.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Happy fall, it has finally
arrived, of course in some parts of California
we don’t really get the kind of fall the rest of the country gets but we do
have our own version of it. I really
love this time of year when the light and the leaves begin to change and the
evenings and mornings become cooler and just a bit crisp.

The colors of autumn truly
inspire me to get very creative in a number of areas which include baking,
decorating and sewing. Recently I
made my first trip to Michael's and Joann’s to stock up on fall decorating and
fabric supplies.Thanks to Pinterest I
have a ton of fun fall inspired project ideas, of course everything will have
my own spin on it but the pin boards really got me thinking and very excited
to make some new things to decorate the inside of my home and pump up my
outdoor curb appeal.

After my shopping trip I got
the bug to set my dinning room table for fall as I do each season.Out came the rusty orange colored tablecloth,
the place mats, chargers, napkins and napkin rings. I also pulled out several of
my autumn quilted table runners to place in the center of the table and around
the house.

I saw a version of this great
idea on Pinterest and decided to make some with the glassware, veggies and
candles I already had in my entertaining inventory closet.I took out the largest wine glasses I had,
put the veggies inside, turned it upside down and put a short pillar candle on
top, super fun and easy.I will do a
version for Christmas, something a bit more elaborate with lots of bling for
the holidays.

I spent today in fall mode by making new
autumn flower arrangements for my Mom’s grave site, then putting them in place,
everything is all cleaned up and looking pretty again, I feel so much
better.When I got home I was in the
mood to bake, I made some delicious caramel cinnamon apple bread, super yummy!Instead of just making bread I whipped up an
Italian turkey loaf for our dinner, which is baking in the oven as I write
this, the house smells fantastic; I can’t wait for dinner.

Thanks for letting me share
my love affair with fall; I hope it inspires you to do some fall decorating of
your own.Lots of autumn projects to
come as long as I can stay healthy, I have been down with a killer upper
respiratory infection for the last two weeks which really slowed down the
creative and blogging time, fingers crossed.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

OK, I promised you a quick
and easy project so here it is.I needed
a cork board for our little kitchen desk to hold post-it-notes and appointment
cards and could not find one the right size which did not cost a fortune, being
the crafty lady I am I made one.Here is
what I did.

I purchased some 12 x 12 cork
tiles at Staples and a nice brown/black 17”x14” frame with a glass front and a
white mat inside, the frame was on clearance at Michael's. The inside of the
frame was only 11” so I got out my x-acto knife and my cutting mat and
carefully trimmed off the excess.I was
going to remove the glass but decided to leave it and attach the cork to the
glass with heavy duty two side stick tape making it sit flush with the
frame.I had a choice to either add
another piece of cork or leave it a bit short and decorate the top or use it as
a dry erase board for little notes. I chose some great word stickers to finish off my
project, all done, super quick, very easy and half the price.

There were still three cork
tiles left in the package so I chose to create a cork board for the laundry
room by cutting and attaching the cork tiles to the inside of one of the cabinet
door insets.Using my x-acto knife and
the double side stick tape made it another quick and easy project; I got two
cork boards for the price of one all in a single sitting.

Thanks for letting me share
my Quick Cork Board project with you today, I still have several other quick
and easy projects to share with you along with lots of fun fall designs to warm
up your home and curb appeal.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I finally found the time to
finish the makeover of the girl’s blue jean shorts into a skirt. This project
did not take a lot of time with the exception of the gathering of the two
layers of ruffles to fit the new style of the old shorts. Once I had the
ruffles ready the rest went very quickly and the skirt was done in no
time.Included in today’s post are the
before and after shots and a photo shoot I did with my cute little model, my
granddaughter.

Before:

After:

The transformation of the
shorts to skirt was much easier then with the pants, just simple cuts up the
inner thigh on each leg; carefully cutting through the seam in the center, with
old blue jeans the fabric is very thick, a sharp pair of scissors works
best.Next I flattened out the fabric as
best I could then cut off the legs to just a little below the zipper leaving
enough room to attach the ruffles I made earlier. I was careful to make sure
the inside pockets did not get caught up in the seams by pinning them out of
the way while sewing on the ruffle. I added some top stitching to the skirt and
ruffles to keep them from irritating my granddaughter when she moves around.I stitched up a narrow fabric belt and tacked
it to the back of the skirt at the waistline so the new belt would not become
lost in the wash.I added a few pretty
blue buttons to the front of the zipper placket to keep it fun and I was
done.I purchased a new blue shirt to go
with the skirt and hand stitched a rick rack bow with a button in the center to
tie it into the skirt; the outfit was complete and ready to wear.

Both skirts were upcycled
from pants and shorts into bright darling garments ready for their second life
in a new form, recycling at its best.

My very happy granddaughter
modeling her new outfits, what a cutie!

Thanks for letting me share
my upcycling skirt projects with you; I had a great time making them, wait
until you see what I can do with a pair of men’s designer jeans, that’s for a later
date.I still have a few easy DIY
projects to share with you next so keep watching for those.I know, I know…, I was supposed to show those
today but I was just too excited about finishing the skirts, I had to share
those first, thanks for understanding, you will see those next, unless I find a
better project to share. (Giggles!!)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Last Saturday I took the Cabo
Bucket Purse making class, I have been waiting for this class since I took the
Marissa Bag class on my birthday, part two of my gift from my husband, what a
great guy I married.

Just before my class I went
to The Nimble Thimble in Gilroy
to purchase my class supplies and fabric.It took a bit of time to figure out what I wanted to use for my purse
fabric, with the help of the store owner, Dave and my husband, I settled on RooftopGarden by Moda, two very pretty fabrics
showcasing fall colors in several shades of green, orange, gold and plum.
Afterwards I went home to do the pre-class prep of cutting out all my fabrics
and fleece, a very long process.

My teacher, Sheila, was great
about sharing all her little tips and tricks and had wonderful suggestions for
making the purse go together as easy as possible. It was an all day project but
absolutely worth every minute, my bag came out fantastic and we had a great
time sewing and chatting the day away.I
was totally worn out when I was done but I would do it again, I plan to take a
few more purse making classes in the very near future.

The bag is lined with a
complimentary fabric with another contrasting fabric for the exterior pocket
lining, the button and the interior pockets, there are eight with a contrasting
trim.The bucket bag is pulled into
shape by a magnetic closure and held closed with an oversize button. I am very
pleased with my new purse; I can not wait to start using it as soon as I break
out my fall wardrobe.

Thanks for letting me share
my new Cabo Bucket Bag; I had a great time making it along with the Marissa
Bag I made last week.Time to move on
and share some of my other projects, I have quite a few to show you, watch for
those in the next few days.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

As part of my personal goal
for 2012 I committed to brushing up on some of my skills by taking a few
classes.I managed to take several
on-line courses, purchased several teaching DVD seminars, go to Groovy Girls sewing
club and the monthly mystery block demonstration put on by my local quilt shop.
The one thing I still had not done was to actually take a hands on sewing
class, time was running out so I finally took one this August while on my break
from blogging.Back in the 70’s and 80’s
I made a lot of purses and bags, I haven’t made any since then, using all the new products, so
I decided to brush up my skills by taking a purse making class at a quilt shop,
The Nimble Thimble in Gilroy, over in the next town, ours closed down this
spring.Our teacher was Sheila Galindo,
she was the teacher at our old quilt shop, I was happy to find her and take
this class from her; she is the queen of purse making and just the gal to help
me brush up my skills.

The first thing I did was to
go to my fabric wall and look for a couple of coordinating fabrics to make my
bag out of.It did not take long to find
the two darling, bright orange and pink fabrics I wanted to use for my new
purse. Once my fabric was picked out I did all the pre-class prep work of
cutting out my fabrics, fleece and interfacings and went to class ready to sew.

We all had a great time
chatting and sewing while Sheila guided us through all the steps, it was so
much fun.Each bag was totally cute and
unique it its own way due to the different choices in fabric.I can not wait to make another one very soon.

Thanks for letting me share
my adventures in purse making, I am taking another class very soon, the next purse is larger and a bit more challenging, just my kind of class.Let’s hope this purse comes out as nice as
the last one. I still have some easy
projects to share with you so keep watching for those.

Monday, September 3, 2012

I am back from my August
Break and my week off to celebrate my birthday and our 35Th Wedding
Anniversary. It is unofficially the
close of summer and the beginning of the fall season with the conclusion of the
long Labor Day Weekend. It is now time
to get back to creating fun projects to share with all of you over the up
coming fall and winter holidays. I
managed to work on a few projects and pieces while I was away from my blog, up
first is my laundry room makeover.

The laundry room was just a
simple boring beige color with lots of holes in the walls and one cabinet over
the washing machine, I absolutely detested that room and I was always
embarrassed whenever the door was left open and company came to visit. I love color and beige was not going to cut
it so we went out and looked for something to inspire the makeover. We went to Target where I found the basic
pieces I would use as my jumping off point.
I chose the era and room colors of retro turquoise blue and tomato red
from the art piece which hangs front and center in the room. Here are some photos of the laundry room
prior to painting it and the rest are the after shots broken down into
segments.

Before:

After:

From all the photos you can
see I used only small accents of the tomato red spread throughout the room, the
other accents were the oak cabinets and the small wooden laundry wall hanger.The rest of the accents were all in white
with the turquoise blue being the predominant wall color. The laundry room is now such a bright fun room
too walk into, with lots of new storage and great new lighting replacing the
old, loud fan light.I am very happy we
spent some of our vacation time working on the laundry room which is part retro
but mostly colorful and updated, I love it.

Thanks for letting me share
my new laundry room with you, I hope it inspires you to take a look at the
space where you do your laundry and consider updating it and making it a fun
place to work in.Remember even a
laundry closet, basement or garage could use a bright coat of paint to bring
some sunshine into your laundry space no matter how large or small it is. Watch for more new projects
all week long, I have some really easy ones anyone can do.

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About Me

I love to create all kinds of crafts, organize and decorate my home, upcycle and recycle old or unused furniture and clothing and just about anything I can find a new purpose for. I am also a master seamstress, fabric artist, pattern designer, quilter, blogger and an all around creative DIY gal. I like to share all my projects with other creative people who want to make their homes and lives more comfortable and relaxing in the same way I do.

Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be copied or reproduced in any form. All images, patterns, products and tutorials are the sole property of Laurette Chandler, owner. Protected by Federal Copyright Law and may not be reproduced for resale or commercial use in any form without prior written consent.